Ch 16 – 17 is Job’s response to Eliphaz’s second speech.
Job said he could have make fine speeches if they switch places. The difference is Job would encourage and comfort to bring them relief instead of accusation (16:4-5).
6-14: Unlike some of us, Job did not hide his feeling to God in front of his friends. He was making statements of how God has turn his life upside down, how God has worn him out, how God has devastated his entire household (v6-7). It is interesting that Job did not seem to know although God allowed the tragedy in his life, Satan was actually the one who caused the suffering in his life.
v19: Job some how knew there is an advocate between him and God. On behalf of Job, this advocate pleaded with God as a man pleads for his friend. Jesus is our advocate before God.
v22: Job felt like dying. He felt his days are short, the grave was awaiting for him (17:1). When we are in extreme pain and suffering, he wanted our life to end sooner.
This is the start of the second round of the debate (15:1-21:34).
Job’s resistance to their viewpoint and his appeals energized them to greater intensity in their confrontation.
In Eliphaz first speech, he had displayed some kindness toward Job; but you find neither patience nor kindness in this second address. Nor do you find any new ideas: Eliphaz merely repeats his former thesis that man is a sinner and God must punish sinners.
v1-6: Eliphaz accused Job for sinning with his mouth against God. [your own lips testify against you].
v7-13: Eliphaz condemned Job for rejecting the conventional wisdom, as if he had more insight than other people (v7-9), and could reject the wisdom of the aged (v10) and the kindness of God (v11).
v14-16: Eliphaz said all men are sinners. However Job did not suffer because of his sins.
v17-35: Eliphaz tells a story of a wicked man (v20) whom received punishment from God. He was using this story to tell Job he is like the man in the story, a sinner who deserved to be punished by God.
Ch 12 -14 is Job response to Zophar’s three accusations:
Chapter 12 – Zophar accused Job had no knowledge of God (11:5-12)
Job affirmed that he had wisdom and understanding just a they did (Job 12).
Job said:
“But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things?” (v12:3).
“What you know, I also know; I am not interior to you.” (v13:1)
Job pointed out God is completely sovereign in what He does with nature (v14-15) and with people (v16-25). God has the wisdom to know what to do, and He has the power to accomplish it (v13,16).
Chapter 13 – Zophar accused Job was a guilty sinner (11:1-4)
Job affirm his integrity (Job 13)
Job would rather speak and argue his case to the Almighty God, instead of debating with his friends (v13:3). He would rather his friends to silent (v13:5,13) instead of trying to be by “physicians” on Job’s case (v13:4).
Job challenged his friends that if God examine them as if Job did to him, they will surely not turn out good (v13:9).
Staring from v13:20, Job speak to God directly.
Job asked God to grant him two things:
to withdraw His hand from him (v13:21)
to know him how many wrongs and sins Job has committed (v13:23), so he could determine if his measure of suffering matched the severity of his sin.
Job felt God might be punishing him for sins committed years earlier in his youth. (v13:26).
Chapter 14 – Zophar assured Job there was still hope if he acknowledge his sins and repent(11:13-20)
Job admits that his hope is almost gone (Job 14).
In ch 14:1-12, Job used several images to illustrate the hopeless condition of man in this world.
Man is like a flower, springs up and withers away, like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure (2). Our life is short, what are you doing in your life to make this short life a meaningful life?
“Look away from him and let him alone…” (v6). Job has no more hope, he does not want to be bother. He just want to be lone for the remaining of his life. Often when we go through extreme pain, we just want to be alone. We feel that no want understand our pains, not even the closest friends, maybe not even God. Sometimes as friends, all we can do for our suffering friends is to pray for them.
Job said at least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail (v8). But man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more (v10).
Job asked “If a man dies, will he live again?” (v14). Job did not think man could have life after death. Thank God we who life in the NT world know! [but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.] (2 Tim 1:10). 1 Corinthians 15 tells us there resurrection after death: [For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.] (1 Cor 15:21-22).
Chapter 9 was talking to his friends, in chapter 10 Job is talking to God directly.
The entire chapter 9 and 10 is a court scene. Job knew he could never win against God in a court, so he asked for a mediator to arbitrate between him and God (9:32). Lord Jesus is our mediator between us and God.
Job acknowledged God is the creator of heavens (9:5 – 10) and earth, as well as God’s sovereignty is on His creations. God is the one who makes the earth quake (v6), God could darken the sky, day or night (9:7).
Job still believe he is innocent and blameless (9:15,20,21;10:7). He concluded that God destroys both the blameless and the wicked (9:22).
Job believed his suffering is from God, that is why he is in fear of God (9:35;10:8).
Job also acknowledged that God created him (10:8-12). But now God’s rod is upon him, he wished he was never born (10:18).
Job acknowledged God’s power and wisdom in His creation. But due to his suffering, Job now think God treat all people the same way, God destroys both the blamsless and the wicked (9:22). When wicked sinned on earth, God covers the eyes of the judges (v24).
“Are not my few days almost over”? Job pleads to God to turn away from him so that he can have a moment of joy before death. (10:20)
Ancient Jewish tradition ascribed the book to Moses. Moses potentially heart about the story of Job and inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this book while he was in the wilderness of Midian for 40 years.
Another possible author is Job or Elihu.
Background of Job
Job in Hebrew means “the afflicted ones”, “the persecuted one”.
Job is a real historic man. He was mention in Ezekiel 14:14,20 and James 5:11. He lived in Uz (1:1).
Let’s try to find Job in other OT scriptures.
In a postscript of the book of Job, the Septuagint, following the ancient tradition, identified Job with Jobab, the second king of Edom (Gene 36:33).
Since Job came from Uz, and in OT time, it was common to name a place after the person who live there. In OT there are three persons named Uz:
Grandson of Shem (Gen 10:23)
son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham (Gen 22:21)
descendent of Esau (Gen 36:28)
One theory is Job was one of the sons of Nahor, because Nahor has another son named Buz (Gen 22:21), and Elihu was a Buzite (Job 32:2). So it is possible that Elihu was one of the sons or grandsons of Buz.
Job was the greatest man among all the people of the East (1:3). East is defined as the land between Egypt and Euphrates River. He was a rich man, owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 5,00 oxen, and 500 donkeys, and large number of servants.
He was blessed by God with 7 sons and 3 daughters (1:2)
He was a person that feared God, as a result he was blameless and upright, and away from evils (1:1).
God called Job His servant at least twice (1:8;2:3). So we know Job was a person that knows about God and served God.
Timeframe
The history of Israel with God, as well as Mosaic’s laws, sacrifices and tabernacle is not mentioned at all in this book. Thus the time frame of Job is probably before Moses time.
Job lived over 180 years (140 + 60) (Job 42:16). Based on Genesis, people in Abraham time lived this long age, so Job was probably lived a couple of hundreds years before or after Abraham.
Significant in the bible
Job is the first of the five wisdom books in OT, along with Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Songs of Songs.
Job 3:1 – 42:6 was arranged in Hymns like manner.
These wisdom books talk about life and came to the same conclusion:
1) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10)
2) The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom (Job 28:28)
3) Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Regardless of whether it was Job, Elihu or Moses whom wrote this book by the inspiration from Holy Spirit, this book was probably the first completed book in the bible.
Job was quoted in:
Rom 11:35: Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIMTHAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? (Job 41:11)
1 Cor 3:19: For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS” (Job 5:13)
Job was mentioned by Ezekiel is Ezekiel 14:14 and by James in James 5:11
Division
Tragedy of Job (Ch 1- 2)
Three rounds of debates (Ch 4-31)
1st round (ch 4-14)
2nd round (ch 15-21)
3rd round (ch 22-31) (Zophar did not speak on the last round)
Elihu (Ch 32-37)
God speaks (Ch 38-42:6)
Blessing of Job (Ch 42-7-16)
Suffering
Suffering is one of the biggest questions concern by men. Why do people suffer if there is a loving God who created and care for His creation?
The answer is in Genesis chapter 3. There was no suffering before the fall of man. However Adam and Eve disobey God, as a result sins came into the world. Because of sins, God cursed the devil (Gen 3:14), women (Gen 3:16), earth (Gen 3:17), and men (Gen 3:19). The punishment of sin is death, and suffering is part of the process of death.
So sins was the root cause of why human experience suffering.
However our God is good and all powerful. He could and often use suffering to make man repent and turn to Him.
Georges de La Tour – Job Mocked by his Wife – WGA12340 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Discipline
God is our heavenly father, He would discipline us if we disobey Him. And discipline often involves sort level of suffering. (Heb 12).
Spiritual Battle
In the case of Job, there was a reason in the spiritual realm as told in chapter 1 why Job suffered.[For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.] (Ephesians 6.12).
Many people know only the battle between the spirit and the flesh; they do not perceive the conflict that rages between us believers and the evil spirits as described in the sixth chapter of Ephesians. The real spiritual battle is fought between us and Satan with his evil spirits. This battle is joined by all matured believers, for the children of God on earth are frequently attacked by evil spirits. Such attacks sometimes occur in the believers’ environment, sometimes in their physical bodies, sometimes in their thoughts, sometimes in their emotions, and sometimes in their spirits.
Too often believers are not aware of being attacked by evil spirits. They do not understand why everything seems to be against them, creating terrible confusion and trouble. They too often take these things as natural, not realizing that frequently they are being supernaturally oppressed by the evil spirits.
Sins in our life
Suffering could also be caused by sins in our life.
King David sins against Uriah and Bathsheba, although he had repent and asked for forgiveness from God, and God has forgiven him, but David still have to bear the consequences of his sins.
Satan
It is interesting that the first book of the bible (in the order of when the book was written) mentioned Satan, at the beginning of the book.
Similarly, Satan appear in the beginning of Genesis, in chapter 3.
Satan is the deceiver, the destroyer and the accuser. The is the enemy of God. But it is very clear that God has authority over Satan. Satan would not be able to touch the hair of Job if God did not allow it. Satan still needed to come to present himself before God (1:6).
Satan will do anything to get man to stop serving God. His desires is for men to curse God (1:11;2:5)
Satan accused the Job of being faithful to God only for the blessing he received from God.
English: Satan Going Forth from the Presence of the Lord, by William Blake. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Sovereignty of God
The book of Job gives us a picture of God who is the Creator of heaven and earth (chapter 38 and 39), including every things living on earth. He is also in control of everything in this world. He is authority over angels, satan, and man.
Friends of Job
Job’s three friends were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite.
Eliphaz was possibly the son of Esau. One of his son was Amalek, which makes Eliphaz the ancestor of Amalekites (Gen 36:11-12)
Bildad was possibly descendant of Abraham and Keturah (Gen 25:2)
We do not know the background of Zophar.
They were good friends of Job. They heard about Job’s trouble and make arrangement to visit Job to sympathize and to comfort him. When they saw Job from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. They sat on the gound with him for seven days and seven nights without saying a word. (2:11-13).
Chapter 3 to Chapter 31 is a record of three rounds of debates between Job and his three friends. Three of them concluded that although Job seem like a righteous man outside, he must have sinned against God, that was the reason of Job’s suffering, it was punishment from God.
All three friends try to explain there has to be a connection between Job’s present suffering and his past life. They are looking for a logical, cause-and-effect relationship. Their arguments can all be reduced to this:
Job is suffering
God is just and would not allow a person to suffer without reason
Therefore, Job must have sinnedto deserve this suffering
The three friends each base their accusations on different arguments:
Eliphaz appeals to experience and observation:
“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?Or where were the upright destroyed? “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it. (Job 4:7-8)
Bildad appeals to tradition:
“Please inquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.
“For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because our days on earth are as a shadow.
“Will they not teach you and tell you,
And bring forth words from their minds? (Job 8:8-10)
Zophar arrogantly speaks as if he knows exactly what God thinks. He appeals to his own view of God:
“But would that God might speak,
And open His lips against you,
And show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God forgets a part of your iniquity.” (Job 11:5-6)
Job’s Comforters, from the Butts set. Pen and black ink, gray wash, and watercolour, over traces of graphite (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
How Job responded to his suffering
On Satan first attack, Job responded with praises to God.
[He Said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”] (Job 1:10)
Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing (1:22).
On Satan second attack, Job responded with trust in God.
[But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. ](Job 2:10)
But after his friends came and voiced out their opinion that Job must be suffering because of his sins against God. So Job started to defend himself. The more Job defends himself against the logic of his friends, the more he adopts their approach and builds his own argument:
I am suffering
I know that I have done nothing to deserve this suffering
The logical conclusion would be that, therefore, God must be unjust. (Job 40:8)
But Job never quite draws that final conclusion; rather it is:
Therefore, God has some explaining to do.
After Job kept silence with his friends for 7 days and 7 nights, Job finally started to speak. From Job’s words, we slowly know more about what he was thinking inside him.
Job expressed [What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.] (Job 3:25).
We see that before he experienced these tragedy, he already feared that it would happen to him. It seems to indicate that Job was afraid of God, he lived a righteous life because he wanted to avoid being disciplined from God.
On several occasions Job readily admitted to having sinned:
Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be.” (Job 7:21)
For you write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. (Job 13:26)
But Job questioned the extent of his sin as compared to the severity of his suffering.
What Job was lacking in his understanding of God is that God is our heavenly father. God wanted us to trust in Him and love Him as son loves his father.
However as Job trying to prove he was a righteous man with out sin, he slowly revealed his sinful nature: self righteousness. Job was pride of himself because he was a righteous man.
Job was so sure of him righteousness that he was willing to condemn God to defense his righteousness (Job 40:8)
At the end, Job acknowledge the power and wisdom of God. Job replied to God “I know that you can do all things, no plan of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2). And then Job continue to say “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”
Job finally repent of his sin of self righteousness. He said to God:
“My ears had heard of You,
but now my eyes have seen You.
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 40:4-6)
Elihu
Elihu say the the youngest among them. After everybody finished their arguments, it was time for Elihu to speak.
Chapter 32 to 37 is the record of the argument of Elihu.
Elihu explained that Job’s suffering was because God wanted to discipline him, so that Job self righteousness would die and Job would become a better person.
Elihu cautions Job against blaming God.
However when Elihu’s argument was not well accepted, he himself get mad, and revealed his own sinful nature. So he stepped back.
Then came thunder and rain, after that he saw sun rise in the north in golden color. He then describe the magnificent of God.
God spoke
Chapter 38 to 42 is a record of God’s response to them. God did not actually answer Job question, why did he suffer. God did not tell him about Satan. What God did instead of asking Job a bunch of questions:
Who is this that darkens my counsel without knowledge? (38:2)
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? (38:4)
On what were its footing set, or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for job? (38:6-7)
Have the gates of death been shown to you? (38-17)
Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? (38:18)
Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons? (38:32)
Do you know the laws of the heavens (38:33)
The questions go on and on to the end of chapter 39.
And God final question on His first declaration was:
Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” (40:2)
Job responded with these words:
“Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
“Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;
Even twice, and I will add nothing more.” (40:4-5)
Then God continued to ask Job questions in chapter 40 to the end of chapter 41.
Then Job finally repent:
[Then Job answered the LORD and said,
2 “I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
6 Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”] (Job 42:1-6)
Job no longer question God. He acknowledge God sovereignty, wisdom, power, majesty and authority over him. Job see that the majesty of God. He no longer needed the answer to him question: why did he experience these tragedy, because God is his answer.
James in NT told us that God purpose was to test the steadfastness of Job, to reveal how compassionate and merciful God is. (James 5:11)
This is the last Psalm attributed to the sons of Korah. This psalm is a song, as indicated by the inscription, albeit the saddest songs of all of Psalms. There are various interpretation of what [mahalath leannoth] means, I like the Wiersbe’s interpretation: mahalath means “sickness”, leannoth means for humbling. Mahalath may refer to the melody of the song, which would probably be in minor key. The second may refer to the purpose, which is to bring us low before God. Sad psalms are not rare, but almost all of them end in a positively. But this psalm ended in darkness. The last word of the psalm in hebrew is [hoshek], which means darkness.
Regarding the author, Heman. There two Heman in the bible. First, Heman is the son of Joel, was a temple musician during the reign of David (1 Chron 6:33). The second Heman was one of the wise men in Solomon time (1 Kings 4:31). This Heman is one of the five sons of Zerah (1 Chron 2:6), from the tribe of Judah, as the inscription has suggested, an Ezrahite.
The word Maskil (Maschil) appeared multiple times in previous Psalms. It means this is an instructive Psalm. The sorrows of one saints are the lessons to others.
This is a messianic psalm. Read this psalm and meditate on our Lord Jesus’s suffering on His walk to calvary will greatly help us to appreciate what the Lord has done for us.
Some questions to meditate when reading this psalm are:
1) Would a loving God purposely plan suffering on His children?
2)Are all suffering caused by God?
3)If God cause men to suffer, what was His purpose?
Division
Exposition
v1: The Lord is my salvation! This is the only positive verse in the whole song. Although the psalmist was in the lowest point of his life, and felt that God has abondant him. But he knows that God is still his salvation. He didn’t deny the existence of God, and didn’t reject God in this psalm. In fact, this psalm is the records of his prayers to God (v1,2,13). Heman cried out to God day and night. Sadly, for most of us, the only time we cried out to God day and night is when we are in distressed situation.
v2: When we are in our deepest sorrow, a lot of times we do not want to talk to anyone but God. Because no one else would understand but God.
v3: The soul of a person is the person’s thought, mind, feeling. Heman’s soul has so many troubles that he felt like he was very close to Sheol, which was a place where dead people would go.
v4: The psalmist continued to sing how low his soul was. He used another word to describe Sheol: the pit. The felt like dead man who has no strength.
v5: Grave is the physical place of a dead man resting place. Heman felts like his soul was in Sheol and his body was in a grave, being forsaken and forgotten by God.
v6: More description of Sheol. The lowest pit, dark places, the depths. The body can only bear a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand ways, and die over and over again each hour.
v7: Heman attributed his suffering to God. The wrath of God is the worst a man can be found. God’s wrath crush our soul beyond conception, it is the hell of hell.
v8: Heman because an outcast for his friends. He could no longer have fellowship with them. He attributed this to God. Would God purposely let us suffer? Yes He would, sometimes because of our sins, He needed to discipline us. […..knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope (Rom 5:3-4)
v9: Heman knows his suffering was from God, so he called upon God daily to rescue him.
v10-12: These are rhetorical questions. Heman wants to express that the dead cannot testify to God’s goodness.
On the other hand, God’s glory was fully reveal on the death and resurrection of Jesus.
v13: Heman was praying fervently to God to deliver him from his current condition.
v14: [Why do you hide your face from me]. Heman has been praying but God didn’t answer. He couldn’t see the face of God.
“Every stroke of God rod there is a sufficient reason in the judgement of His loving heart, let us try to learn that reason and profit by it. ” (Spurgeon)
v15: Heman’s suffering started during his youth.
Jesus was preparing for His suffering on Calvary, even when he was young.
v16: Heman felt he was totally destroyed by God’s terrors.
v17: Surrounded me like water?
v18: Sometimes when a father need to discipline one of his trouble children, he would ask the rest of the family to distance from the child, to isolate him, to make him ashamed of his sins. Paul said similar thing in 1 Corinthians 5:5: [I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.]
A psalm performed by sons of Korah. Jerusalem and Babylon were mentioned, thus this Psalm was probably written after the fall of Assyrian, and before the exile of Judah by Babylon. The theme is about the citizens of Zion.
Division
v1-3: City of God
v4-6: Citizens of God’s city
v7: Citizens rejoice in the God
Exposition
v1: [His foundation] means God founded the city of Zion among holy mountains.
v2:Gates of Zion. Gates are where worshipers enter into Jerusalem to worship God. God desires people to come into His chosen city to worship Him. Zion is the other name for Jerusalem. It is mainly used by psalmists, it means Jerusalem is not just a city, it is the God chosen holy city. God loves Zion more than all the other places in Israel. This shows that God is the sovereign God, He choose His city, His people, and His church based on His good pleasure and His good will.
v3: I believe Zion is an image of God’s church. In OT, God’s present was in Zion. In NT, God’s present is in His church. Zion is a glorious city. God’s church is a glorious organism, it is the living body of Christ.
v4-5: Rahab was a monster of ancient pagan mythology, it means arrogant. It is also used to symbolize Egypt, enemy of Israel in the south. Babylon was the enemy from the North. Philistia and Tyre were the enemies from the west. Ethiopia was Cush in Africa. All these pagans country would have people who were born in Zion and became its citizen. Salvation came from the Jew (John 4:22), but praise God it is for all the nations in the world. When we believed in Jesus as our Savior, we immediately were born into the Kingdom of God, the city of Zion, the church of Christ (John 3:5-6).
v6: God cares about every single citizen of Zion, He counted every single one who was born into Zion.
v7: Springs is a metaphor for the source of joy. Zion was not built near a great river. So it was always a problem to supply enough water. Jesus is our spring of joy. In Him we find the spring of living water (John 4:10-14).
A Psalm written by David. This is the only Psalm that has the inscription attributed to David on Book III of Psalm. It is not clear when David would have written this Psalm. It is a prayer of David. David prayed because he wants God to hear (v1,6) and answer (v1) him. He desires to have joy in the Lord (v4), to know the way of God and to walk in God’s truth (v11), and to fear God. Notice how David praises God by mentioned God’s characters: forgiving (v5), good (v5), abounding in love (v5), greatness (v10), marvelous (v10), compassionate (v15), gracious (v15), slow to anger (v15), faithfulness (v15), merciful (v16). What a joy to praise God for who He is in our prayers. We need to grow up from always praying the “give me” prayers. Instead, it is pleasing to God and uplifting to our spirit when we praise God in our prayers.
Division
v1-7: hear me, answer me
v8-13: You are great
v14-17: save me from the enemies
Exposition
v1: poor and needy refers to spiritually, not financially
v2: God is our master, we are His servant. What a privilege to be a servant of the almighty God.
v3: [I call to You all day long]: Is our day fully devoted to God? Do we call on Him all day long?
v4: Joy is one of the most outward visible traits of christians. Are you joyful? If not, ask the Lord to give us the joy in Christ, just like David did here.
v5: Jesus die for everybody. However not everyone received the forgiveness of sins. Those who sincerely put their trust in Jesus will surely experience God’s love, goodness and the forgiveness of sins.
v7: David believed God will surely answer him.
v8-10: [Among the gods]: gods mentioned here does not is not the same as the one and only God mentioned in the bible. David makes it clear in verse 10, only Jehovah is the only true God. Sometimes the bible refers to kings as gods, because they suppose to represent God’s authority on judging good and evil on earth. gods also means the idols worshipped by gentiles. Let’s for a few seconds assume the gods worshipped by different all kind of people throughout the history are true. None of these gods are comparable to Jehovah described in the bible, who is all power ful, all knowing, eternally existed, Holy, righteous, and at the same time loving, caring, forgiving.
v11: The know the way of the Lord and be obedience in walking in His truth should be the prayers of all followers of Jesus Christ. We need undivided heart in order to fear God. We need to focus on the Lord in all the things we do.
v13: [You have delivered me from the depths of the grave]: Jesus has delivered us from hell.
v15: a quote from Exodus 34:6-7.
v16: David started the prayer by mentioned him as a servant of God (v2), and ended the prayer with the same reminder.
v17: When we are oppressed by our enemies, as Christians the Lord told us to pray for our enemies. But it is okay to ask God to show His goodness in us so that the enemies can be put to shame to know that the God we believe good and all powerful.
